TOX2 is an HDMI TV stick powered by Allwinner H313 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor that we first found in an X96Q TV box. The device runs Android 10 operating systems and happens to provide Ethernet connectivity, a rarity for this form factor.
The dongle also comes with 2GB LDRR4 RAM, 16GB eMMC flash, and dual-band WiFi 5, and supports 4Kp60 video output through a male HDMI 2.0 port.
TOX2 specifications:
- SoC – Allwinner H313 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.35 GHz with Arm Mali G31 MP2 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2 and Vulkan
- System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4
- Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card socket
- Video & audio output – HDMI 2.0a port up to 4Kp60
- Video playback
- H.265 up to 4Kp60
- H.264, VP9 Profile 2, AVS2 up to 4Kp30
- H.263, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, MPEG-1, Xvid, Sorenson Spark, VP8, AVS/AVS+, VC1 up to 1080p60
- Video encoding – H.264 up to 1080p60
- Networking
- 10/100M Ethernet
- Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.0
- USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x USB 2.0 device port, 1x USB Type-C port (could be only for power, TBC)
- Expansion – IR receiver jack
- Power Supply – 5V via USB Type-C port
- Dimensions – N/A
TOX2 mini TV Stick ships with an IR remote control, an IR receiver extension cable plus 3M sticker, a short HDMI extension cable, and a USB C to USB A cable for power. In theory, it might be powered from the USB port of your television, but it’s usually better to use a proper power supply for good stability.
As we noted in our article about X96Q Allwinner H313 TV box, the new processor is meant to provide an alternative to Allwinner H3, Amlogic S905W, or Rockchip RK3229 processors with a more recent version of Android, and support for 4K H.265 video decoding up to 60 fps.
I received information about TOX2 by email with some photos and an excel spreadsheet, but no link. Having said that, there are several sellers on Aliexpress that offers the TV dongle for $37.4 and up including shipping with options for various air mice.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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I’m done with Android boxes.
Most of them receive updates for maybe a year, the expensive ones maybe for two years, then they become obsolete. Totally not worth it.
If it runs Linux or Windows, fine.
If it doesn’t, gtfo.
The hardware is usually good or at least decent. Sometimes the cooling needs some modding but that’s it.
As for the software there’s all kinds of initiatives to provide Linux for these and I think for many CoreElec or LibreElec can work.
Take into consideration the price also , you can find some for $20 which is really peanuts so if you can find some good software they’re OK.
I have 2 at home connected to a TV and a monitor and they do the job , playing some movies , YouTube and the occasional game. They’re still on Android though. I might try some Linux for them.
I tried LibreElec on my Amlogic but couldn’t get my usb tv dongle working with Kodi. Armbian couldn’t detect the wifi card either, through trying every random dtb from their forums.
Hit and miss, I wouldn’t recommend. Instead, pay a bit extra for a ‘proper’ single board computer with a solid community behind it. And consider porting GloDroid if Android is desired.
I’m now running XFCE on a pawn shop Core i5 laptop (way cheaper than importing a VIm3) but may dig out the Android box when I want to stream a Google Play movie.
Usb isn’t depending on the dtb, and LE is working slightly different with dtbs than CE.
If your usb keys are supported by mainline, you can ask in the forums, and often you will get someone to enable the driver in the nightlies, or of course you can compile it by yourself…
The Odroid C4 is a better device then the VIM3 if you are looking.
You ever got an update for any of your boxes? Both of mine didn’t even come with a working update mechanism.
I got a cheapo generic Amlogic S905X3 that didn’t have a functioning update system but I found some firmware for it on 4pda.ru made by a nice guy which is now on it and seems OK.
The other one a Beelink Mini something with S905X2. This one did get OTA updates , even to Android 9 but now no more.
I’m planning to move both of them to Linux but I’m waiting till the mainline support for them gets better.
I’m also not that happy with the Linux UI for TV but I’ll see about that.
Anyway for the money paid they’re doing the job, the Beelink in particular is quite good as far as the hardware goes.
Having a beelink x2 myself that is really great with LE and jernej is a great maintainer, my X92 runs well with manjaro linux mimicking a vim2…
I totally agree. Even my android TV is buggy as heck. The android box I got from beelink was a waste of my money. I regret not ponying up for the shield. Sadly, the Fire TV stick has been the most stable and consistently performant of what I’ve bought. I have a graveyard of arm stuff that didn’t live up to promises at this point.
If you want a TV box with updates and Linux, Android buy a Khadas Vim or a Hardkernel.
Lol 10 years after you buy that crap usually it runs on mainline Linux 😀
Totally. I’m tired of Android in every device, but also iOS. I just want grab a phone with Linux and stick with it forever.
I still use my old Nexus 5 with custom ROM, and will likely use it as long as it still works somehow. But my next phone will be something running Linux.
My 5x broke down just a couple of days after end of warranty
Unfortunately the pinephone that does exactly that is confined to the A64, as no other affordable soc has mainline support
I’m rocking a 2015 Nvidia Shield TV – still getting updates. Yes they’re pricey but it just works.
Does the chunky HDMI stick form factor appeal to anyone? It looks like it’s going to sag under its own weight and block adjacent ports. If the extender is going to be used, might as well make it a box with more ports.
It’s amazing to see how each time we’re hearing about Allwinner these days, it’s systematically associated with totally outdated crap that’s already e-waste in the factory. Long gone are the days where they would propose solutions such as the A20 that were in line with users expectations at the moment of release. Their solutions have not really progressed since then and that was 9 years ago. No thanks.
I noticed this comment recently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27966579
So that may point to one of the reasons for stagnation….
Whoa, it’s really sad.